3

Why FireEye, Inc. Shares Skyrocketed Today

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of FireEye (NASDAQ: FEYE) jumped nearly 11% Monday, then settled to close up around 8% leading into the cyber-security specialist's on-campus analyst open house this afternoon.

So what: Disappointing guidance has caused FireEye shares to plummet following each of its past two quarterly reports -- including an 11% drop in February, and a 22% plunge last Wednesday -- and both results were largely influenced by significantly increased chunks of cash dedicated to R&D and sales and marketing. Even after today's jump, the stock still sits more than 70% below its March highs.

But FireEye's open house today could be a solid first step to providing more clarity to analysts on why it's missing their proposed marks. To be sure, FireEye stated the afternoon's events would include product demonstrations, Q&A with senior management, and updates on their "vision, strategy and operations."

Now what: Of course, that doesn't change the fact FireEye has made a habit of falling significantly short of Wall Street's expectations. But if their efforts today can at least help analysts understand why that's the case and successfully help them pitch a longer-term outlook, perhaps the broader investing public will be more forgiving of the company -- especially considering its underlying stock trades at a lofty 17 times trailing 12-month sales. For now, though, and despite the big pullback since the last time I opted to stay on the sidelines, I'm just fine keeping FireEye on my watch list.

The biggest thing to come out of Silicon Valley in yearsIn the meantime, there are plenty of other promising stocks out there. To be sure, if you thought the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad were amazing, just wait until you see this. One hundred of Apple's top engineers are busy building one in a secret lab. And an ABI Research report predicts 485 million of them could be sold over the next decade. But you can invest in it right now, for just a fraction of the price of Apple stock. Click here to get the full story in this eye-opening new report.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

Sending report...

As a technology and consumer goods specialist for the Fool, Steve looks for responsible businesses which positively shape our lives. Then he invests accordingly. Enjoy his work? Connect with him on Twitter & Facebook so you don't miss a thing.